


Faith and Friends

by sophisticus



Series: Pink Lightning [11]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 07:52:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14732954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophisticus/pseuds/sophisticus
Summary: As the anniversary of Ace's death approaches, Kitty finds herself worse for the wear as nightmares keep her from resting properly. Finally, to keep her from deteriorating further, the rest of the Straw Hats intervene, even though she's not happy about it.





	Faith and Friends

Luffy had always been the most happy-go-lucky of the whole crew, there was no denying it. Kitty wasn’t _quite_ as carefree as her captain, but she was certainly up there. Maybe a little more serious and thoughtful after Ace’s death and everyone’s two year exile, but she still managed to smile and laugh and have just as good a time as she had before.

So when over the course of less than a week she went from being her usual lighthearted self to being quiet, withdrawn, and sporting dark circles to make Trafalgar Law jealous, of course the crew worried about her. Despite them frequently asking if she were alright, or if there were anything she needed, Kitty kept insisting she was fine, just tired. Zoro wasn’t convinced – she was always awake when he got up in the morning, and still awake when he finally went to bed. She kept denying that anything was wrong, but Zoro could tell she was lying. She’d never been a good liar, not from the very beginning. And now that he knew her as well as he knew himself, it was even clearer that something was deeply wrong, but she didn’t want to burden anybody with it.

Normally, if one of his friends so desperately wanted to keep something to themselves, he’d respect their wishes and leave it be. But when Kitty started skipping meals on top of her already waning appearance, Zoro decided to take matters into his own hands.

He went to bed that night as usual, curling up with Kitty in the room they’d shared for months now. She’d laid down hours earlier, but was, again, awake when he came in. Zoro laid still and deepened his breathing, listening intently. About twenty minutes later, just like he suspected, he felt Kitty carefully slip free of his arms and slide out of bed. He heard the door softly open and close, and then she was gone.

When he found her, she was up on the highest deck, leaning over the railing staring out at the dark sea. The moonlight highlighted her hair, making it look almost purple in the silvery light. He stepped up behind her and slid his arms around her middle.

Kitty nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise, and Zoro gritted his teeth as an instinctual electric shock shot out from her body into his. “It’s me,” he ground out, tightening his grip.

“Shit, Zoro, you shouldn’t scare me like that!” Kitty gasped. She twisted around, placing a hand on his cheek. “You know I shock when I’m startled. I could’ve hurt you.”

He ran a hand through his hair, patting down the strands that stuck out of place from the electricity. “I know.” Despite her warning, he knew what her real static shocks felt like when she was startled – he’d learned about them the hard way – but that one had been nowhere near full power. More evidence. “I was worried about you. Have you slept at all tonight?”

Kitty dropped her gaze. “No. I’m fine though, just needed some fresh air.”

“Kitty. Don’t lie to me.”

Her eyes widened. “I-”

“You don’t have to tell me what’s going on if you don’t want, but you look like hell. You haven’t looked so rough since Dressrosa,” Zoro said, stepping closer.

“Thanks,” Kitty snapped sarcastically. “Good to know my boyfriend will always tell me when I look a little tired-”

“Stop it,” Zoro snarled. “Quit deflecting. It’s not about that and you know it. I don’t know what’s going on with you, and if you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine. But you’re letting it wreck your health. You’re not sleeping, you’re not eating. We’re fucking worried.”

“It’s none of your damn business,” Kitty shot back furiously.

“Like hell it isn’t! You’re our friend. You’re _my_ lover. We rely on you just as much as anybody, and we can’t afford to let you just ruin yourself on a whim,” he snapped. “We’re gonna be up against Blackbeard soon, and you’re not fit to fight. How can Luffy count on you when you couldn’t even power a lightbulb right now?”

“What’s your problem?” Kitty demanded. Her eyes were glazed with tears, and it made his heart ache, but he had to do this. “Did you crawl out of bed just to come up here and yell at me?”

“Of course I didn’t,” Zoro said quietly. “I came up here to _help_ you, since you don’t seem to want to do it yourself.”

“You’ve got a shitty way of helping people.”

“Maybe I do. But I know enough to know when something is out of my depth.”

Kitty didn’t have time to dodge before Zoro grabbed her and picked her up. “Put me down!” she ordered, squirming in his arms. She made no headway – she was so worn down that her limbs refused to move right, and Zoro’s grip was like iron anyway. Static electricity crackled along her arms, but it was weak and didn’t make him so much as flinch. “Zoro, what the fuck, leave me alone!”

He kept his expression cool and neutral as he brought her to Chopper’s med bay. The light was already on, and the reindeer awake. He looked up as Zoro kicked open the door. “Set her on the bed,” he said, turning to rifle through a cabinet.

Kitty’s expression turned enraged. “You brought Chopper into this!?” she demanded, writhing against him. Zoro ignored her, setting her down on a cot but maintaining his grip on her arms, keeping her in place.

“Kitty, please calm down,” Chopper pleaded. “He asked me to help because he’s worried about you.”

“Let me go!” Kitty shouted. Her tears were flowing freely now. “I just want to be left alone!”

Chopper looked just as distraught and baffled by her behavior as Zoro was. Zoro kept his expression schooled as he held her down so that Chopper could give her the injection he’d prepared. Kitty’s struggles weakened as the shot took effect, and in less than a minute she was out cold on the bed.

“This will have her out for about twelve hours,” Chopper sighed, sitting back.

Zoro finally released her, hating the sight of the red marks his hands had left on her arms. As easily as she bruised, those would likely be purple by morning. “Good. She needs the rest.”

“Zoro…I don’t know what’s had her so upset the last few days, but I don’t advise making her talk about it if she’s not ready,” Chopper advised. “You did the right thing here, medically, but on a personal level it will do more harm than good forcing her to confront whatever this is.”

“I’ll take it under advisement. Should I leave her here or take her back to bed?” Zoro grunted. He was in a shitty mood, but he did his best to keep it reined in. Chopper _had_ helped him, even after being woken in the middle of the night.

“Leave her here for now, I’m going to put an IV in her. You said she hadn’t been eating,” Chopper said, already preparing the necessary tools. “Once I get this bag of fluids into her, then you can take her back to your room.”

“Alright. Come get me when you’re done.”

\---

Word spread quickly on such a small ship, of course, so breakfast that morning was a quiet affair. Everyone kept glancing at Kitty’s empty seat, silently wondering if she were alright. Sanji prepared a couple extra meals for her, so she could eat the minute she woke up.

“Is Kitty gonna be alright?” It was Usopp who finally broke the silence.

“Of course she will,” Luffy said confidently. “Chopper’s helping her, she’ll bounce back in no time.”

“We’re not all you, idiot,” Nami said from the other side of the table. She had her nose buried in the newspaper as she picked at her eggs. “Not all of us can return to full health so quickly.”

“Maybe Kitty just needs to eat some meat.”

“I _just said_ we’re not all you!”

“Nami-chwaaan, could you tell me today’s date? I’m making sure nothing’s expired yet,” came Sanji’s voice from deep in the walk-in cooler.

“February fifteenth.”

Zoro frowned at his plate. Something sounded familiar about that date, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He munched absentmindedly on a piece of toast as he tuned out the conversation around him.

It wasn’t until lunch that day that it hit him. Luffy was telling a story from his childhood, gesturing wildly as he spoke. “-hands swelled up and turned purple!” he was saying. “I kept telling him Sabo had said they were safe to eat, but Ace said Sabo was just playing a prank on me. At least they weren’t poisonous mushrooms! And they did taste good! It just took ages for my hands to turn back to normal.”

“Luffy, if this really happened just a few days after Ace and Sabo threatened to kill you for finding their treasure stash, why did you trust them on whether these mushrooms were safe or not?” Usopp asked, exasperated. Franky and Brook roared with laughter behind them.

Zoro was only half listening to the story, but the name made a gear click into place in his head. “Nami, earlier today what did you say the date is?” he demanded, twisting to look at the navigator.

She blinked in surprise. “February fifteenth. Why?”

Zoro shook his head, sighing in disbelief. How could he not have realized? “It’s the anniversary of the War of the Best. Ace’s death.”

Everyone stared at him, before he saw understanding fill their expressions. “Ah, shit,” Sanji said. He puffed on his cigarette before blowing out a plume of smoke.

“That’s why Kitty has been so upset!” Nami exclaimed. “How could we have forgotten? Actually-” She turned and grabbed Luffy’s cheek, stretching it out. “How could _you_ have forgotten? He’s your own brother!”

“I didn’t forget!” Luffy said, looking incredibly offended. “I knew it was coming up, I just didn’t say anything because I don’t really like to remember it.”

“I know _that_ , but you should’ve known that Kitty would be affected too!” Nami scolded. “He was her captain! Of course she’s gonna be upset.”

“You should’ve said something when you saw her looking so sad!” Franky added. “It’s _super_ not cool.”

“Alright, alright! Sorry!” Luffy said defensively, grabbing his cheek free of Nami’s grip. “I figured she didn’t want us bothering her about it, that’s all.”

“Be that as it may, I wish we’d intervened sooner,” Robin said quietly. “She’s quite transparent at times. It’s clear she’s in pain.”

Zoro sat silently. Like Kitty had asked, he hadn’t told anyone that she and Ace had been in love while she was on the Spades crew, so they didn’t realize the full extent of her pain. But Zoro knew it all – or at least, what she’d told him. God, how could he have been so stupid? Of all the crew mates here, _he_ should’ve realized what was going on. In retrospect, his rough approach last night felt completely insensitive and aggressive. Kitty needed the rest, yes, but he could’ve and should’ve handled it much more delicately.

She would be out cold for another handful of hours, he knew. That would give him some time to come up with a suitable apology.

\---

Kitty was still sound asleep when he went back below deck to their room. Zoro sat carefully on the bed next to her, and brushed away the hair that had fallen over her face. She was still unusually pale, and the dark circles under her eyes were still much more prominent than he would’ve liked, but it soothed his heart to see her actually asleep. Compared to her expression last night, this was so much better.

They had argued before, of course, but never anywhere near as harsh as this. He just hoped that she’d realized he’d gotten Chopper involved out of love and worry. Zoro settled into the bed, resigned to wait for her to wake up.

He didn’t have to wait long. Half an hour into his vigil, Kitty stirred, blinking sleepily. Zoro didn’t move from the far side of the bed, watching her warily. She sat up, swaying and squinting. “Zoro?” she croaked.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“I…what happened? My head’s all fuzzy,” she said. “Did we argue again?”

“Yes. You were refusing to sleep or eat, so I took you to Chopper. He drugged you, you’ve been asleep for over twelve hours now,” Zoro explained.

She stared at him as if struggling to process this information. “I was drugged?” Kitty said finally.

“Kitty, we’ve been worried about you. We know it’s the anniversary of Ace’s death,” Zoro said quietly. “You were letting yourself shut down. I had to do something before you made yourself seriously sick.”

At the mention of Ace, Kitty’s eyes darkened. “So, what, it’s pity?” she said quietly.

“Of course not. It’s empathy. We’ve all lost someone, if anybody can understand how you feel it’s us,” Zoro said. “We don’t want to see you shut yourself away instead of relying on us. What good are we if you can’t lean on us when you’re in need?’’

Kitty drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping herself up into a little ball. Her lip wobbled. “I don’t want to bother anybody,” she mumbled.

“So you let yourself deteriorate until we have to wrestle you to bed and sedate you? Thanks for your concern,” Zoro snorted. He moved closer, but he left a little space between them in case she didn’t actually want to be touched. “You should know that you could never bother us. We all care about you, it’s what friends do.”

Her face was wet with fresh tears when she finally looked at him. “Are you sure?” she said.

“Kitty, if we’re willing to fight and kill and die for you, we’re willing to listen when something’s bothering you.” Zoro did his best to keep his exasperation out of his voice, especially considering how fragile she looked right now. She was one of the smartest people he knew, but this was too much for her to understand? “Especially me. If you’re able to go to anybody with anything, it should be me.”

Kitty stared at him for a moment before her face crumbled. Zoro opened his arms as a silent offer, and she took it, burying her face in his neck and clinging to him. His hands stroked soothing lines up and down her back as she cried. “I miss him,” she sobbed. “I miss him so much.”

“I know.” Zoro held her shaking body close.

“I keep having nightmares about it. I keep seeing that hole in his chest, and all that b-blood,” Kitty hiccupped. “I don’t want to sleep because I don’t want to see it anymore.”

How long she cried in his arms, he wasn’t sure, but he held her the entire time. The front of his shirt was damp by time Kitty finally calmed down, slumped limply against him. “Do you feel better?” Zoro asked warily. Kitty’s only answer was a tired nod. “Do you want to lay down?” Another nod. He laid them both gently onto the bed and pulled the covers over them. Kitty was quiet for the rest of the night, and though he could tell it took her a long time to fall asleep, once she finally did, her rest was long and uninterrupted.


End file.
